Black Goat and beyond...

If you've followed the career of filmmaker Joseph Nanni, you would know that his knowledge of H.P. Lovecraft is second only to his knowledge of filmmaking. Four projects in, and he's raised the bar each time. He recently shared with Unfilmable.com his upcoming production slate, and from the sound of things, we haven't seen anything yet!

His last project, the short film Black Goat (watch the film here), was merely a teaser for bigger things to come, and the feature length film (of the same name) is ramping up with script revisions and casting taking place over the next few months. Watch for more news on this one...

Among the other projects Joseph has in the works, is a new Lovecraftian comedy short entitled The Innsmouth Look which should show itself in early 2012, as well as two more features, which brings us to his forthcoming "Necronomicon Cycle"...

Beginning with Black Goat, Joseph's "Necronomicon Cycle", will include three features including It Got Out, based on HPL's From Beyond, but taking place in a contemporary, corporate setting, and a third film, tentatively called Black Seas, which he promises is "total sci-fi cosmic horror". Look for It Got Out production art in the months to come...

It's good to see that Joseph plans to inhabit the world of Lovecraftian cinema far into the future, and provide its fans with quality films which push the boundaries of independent cinema...

As always, watch this space for more, and be sure to check out Bad Advice for Good Times for information on Joseph's previous films...

(Thanks to Joseph Nanni)

Cthulhu invades in 2014...

I don't have much on this one yet, but it sounds promising...

Written and directed by Helio Mira and co-written by Jesús Córdoba, Cthulhu Invasion is a 3D stereoscopic film from Lince Studios and Magic Gate Studios, scheduled for release late in 2014. As I said, more information is needed, but it looks as though the film may have been renamed Ages of Madness...

A short film, titled Helen, will be released in September of 2012 as a prelude to Cthulhu Invasion (Ages of Madness)...

About Cthulhu Invasion (Ages of Madness): The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe created in the 1920s by American horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Mythos stories tend to refer to the "Great Old Ones," a fearsome assortment of ancient, powerful deities who came from outer space and once ruled the Earth. They are presently quiescent, having fallen into a death-like sleep at some time in the distant past. The best-known of these beings is Cthulhu, who currently lies "dead [but] dreaming" in the submerged city of R’lyeh somewhere in the southeast Pacific Ocean. One day, "when the stars are right", the stones of R'lyeh will rise from beneath the sea, and Cthulhu will awaken and wreak havoc on the earth...

About Helen: Angelic Helen wakes up barely dressed and very confused after her first night at a hall of residence for female students during the Roaring Twenties. Her friend Elizabeth reminds her, mischievously, of the unbridled "petting party" celebrated in her room last night. Helen met other girls, new substances, adult games...However, the disappearance of a mysterious book may put them at a terrible risk...

(Information courtesy of the Ages of Madness facebook page)

New trailer, one-sheet for Jared Skolnick's The Earth Rejects Him...

The Earth Rejects Him is an original horror short written and directed by Jared Skolnick (The Music of Erich Zann), and revolves around a young boy who discovers a corpse while biking in the woods, and the unexpected and macabre consequences he faces when he tries to bury it...

Check out the new teaser trailer and poster artwork below...

(Thanks to Jared Skolnick)

New promo poster for Shadow of the Unnamable...

Fresh off two very successful screenings at the Sand Pedro and Portland H.P. Lovecraft Film Festivals, writer/director Sascha Renninger has revealed the latest (and final) Shadow of the Unnamable promotional poster, which can be seen below...

Look for a review of the film in these pages very soon...

(Thanks to Sascha Renninger)

Ah Pook The Destoyer: The Silver Key...

I get a lot of interesting things in my inbox, but one that really caught my eye recently was news of the debut album from Ah Pook The Destroyer, which according to their facebook page is a musical collaboration between Matthew Broyles of the matthew show and Paul Shapera of Mocha Lab. The band's intent is to "musically represent pieces of iconic literature", and their first release is The Silver Key based on the story by H.P. Lovecraft. Song titles include The Logical Relations of Things, Earthly Shackles, Gods of Their Elders and Providence...

Visit the official site to listen to The Silver Key...

(Thanks to Matthew Broyles)

MIST Opportunity

The following post originally appeared on Pete Von Sholly's VONSHOLLYWOOD blog, and is reprinted here with his kind permission. Examples of Pete's amazing Mist storyboards can be found here...

So, working on The Mist, for which I did the storyboards, I was also supposed to get to do some creature designs. This never happened for some reason... Frank??? Anyway if you know me at all I can't resist drawing a monster so here is a quick rough thing I did for the spiders... which I never even showed anyone. People like to keep you in the box they found you in I guess.

(Special thanks to Pete Von Sholly)

Updated: Toys For Tots - Horror Style: Horror creators and fans UNITE! !!

Update: If any filmmakers, musicians or writers would like to donate DVDs, CDs or books to Toys For Tots ~ Horror Style, please contact us here at Unfilmable.com, or Toys For Tots through the contact information below, and thank you for supporting such a wonderful cause!

You give a child a toy. We'll give you a MONSTER-size library [over 3 dozen so far]!

What is Toys For Tots ~ HORROR style?

This is a group of writers/editors/publishers of Horror/Weird/Dark fantasy/etc. who want to do something nice for needy children this year. Each contributor will donate a signed book(s) of theirs [any book, chap, collection, HC, trade, mass market, novel, mag, edited by, etc.][sorry, no “eBooks” as we cannot be certain the winner will have a reading device] and *ONE WINNER* will win them all.

Folks post the pics [2 pics] of them donating to THIS page. One pic showing them holding the toy, one pic of the toy in the box. Sadly, there are a few who might try to cheat and not put the toy in the box, so we need to see the toy really was donated. Take a pic of you holding the toy, then take a 2nd pic of the toy in the box. The donated toy will need to have a price point of at least 5 dollars. I thought a lot of folks have cell phone cams so pics would be easy to take.

How do you enter?

Entrants will need to post a pic of them dropping a toy into a “Toys For Tots” donation box and when all is said and done, say the day after X-Mas, we’ll pick ONE WINNER. Kids get a bunch of toys and we do a little good for those in need in hard times. And someone out there gets a very happy new year! !!

Can a family enter?

YES! You donate a toy, you’re in. Your SO donates one, they’re in! But only one entry per person!

I picked TFT as it’s fairly common and most everywhere in the States. Sadly, due to postage, entrants must live in the States. I also picked this charity as I couldn’t think of another charity where we could be certain we’d be putting something “hard” under trees this year.

We’ll have a predetermined number to pick the winner, between 100 -200 it will be #?, 200-300 will be #?, 300-400, 400-500, 1,000+, etc., etc. [Yes, I hoping for a lot of entries! !!] Then I’ll post the winner’s name here (after X-Mas) and they can message me w/ their address. Then the books will start coming. Each contributor will be mailing the book(s) they’re donating to the winner, so they will not all come at the same time. Books will begin to be shipped after JAN 1st.

We are not a part of *any* group or affiliated w/ any organization. This is just a group of writers/editors/publishers who want to do something nice for children! !! We picked TFT as it will put REAL toys under trees this year!!

Please share this and help spread the word. If you have a blog please consider doing a blog post about this, Tweeting as well. Sharing means word gets out and that puts more toys under trees! !! I know there are no bigger hearts than those of the horror community, so let it bleed!! !

No dealers or booksellers please. This is not for profit in any way, shape, or form. If we find out an entrant is a seller that entry will be not be considered for the drawing.

I’ll be posting what books the winner will receive and adding to the list as I get word of new additions.

Note to any writers and editors and publishers I have not contacted, if you would like to be part of this, please message me here on FB. We would love to have you be part of this! !!

Toys For Tots ~ Horror Style can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter
or via e-mail (tfthorror@googlemail.com) 

To all the current contributors, my deepest thanks! You make me very proud to be one of you! !!

All my bEastly BEST! !!

Joe Pulver

Uncle Kitty vs Santa Claus

Today I will be reviewingRare Exports: A Christmas Tale.

You may wonder why I am reviewing a film about the Finnish version of Santa Claus on a forum usually reserved for darker subject material. Allow me to explain some background on the film and the legend it is based on (this will necessitate spoilers so quit reading here if you wish to avoid them).

One of the oldest Christmas traditions in Europe is the Yule Goat, or the Joulupukki as it's referred to in Finland. Originally a fairly dark figure that punished children it eventually merged with a more modern version of the Santa Claus myth. Except that Santa lives in the mountains at Korvatuntur1. Rare Exports plays off this, and is a prequel to the two short films it is based upon (both of which can easily be found on Google, and are amusing enough to be worth the look).

The film begins with an American mining company drilling on Korvatunturi in what is claimed to be an 'archaeological' dig, but which is obviously not, and the American liaison knows it. Moreover it's quite obvious he's looking for something, and knows what it is, and what rules need to be obeyed in it's presence to maintain safety. Nearby is an unsuspecting town of reindeer ranchers looking forward to their yearly culling. When the drill hits meters thick sawdust we are told through exposition that burying things in sawdust is an ancient way of keeping things cold. Simultaneously a local ranchers son, who is terrified the miners will awaken Santa reads up on old legends in books featuring a hairy goat horned man taller than the trees who eats children. Legend has it the tribes confronted it centuries ago on the ice but were unable to kill it, so when it's weight caused the ice to break they froze it and buried it in the mountain. Not long after the miners go missing, the reindeer herds are slaughtered, and children start to go missing, and of course no one believes the kid. The lone child who knows more than everyone else is an overused cliche in suspense films, but this time they don't seem to be to offensive with it (perhaps because the adults catch on pretty quickly).

Assuming wolves are responsible for the reindeer, the boys father sets spiked pit traps, and catches a frail old naked man covered in dirt. Marketing would have you believe this is the evil serial killer santa that is the focus of the film, but this is untrue. He's an elf, or a Father Christmas as they're referred to in the film. Father Christmases are apparently as strong as bears, can run for miles, and are primitive enough to have not seen a need for clothes (but adapt to tool and weapon use quickly enough). Temperatures don't bother them, they have an addiction to warm gingerbread, and they become homicidal when you violate certain rules in their presence and act 'naughty'. At which point you may have to put them down because once they develop a taste for human flesh after biting you in anger they wont eat anything else.

In a bizarre attempt at trying to get the town reimbursed for the loss of it's herds, the boy's father attempts to bribe the Americans only to learn they've unearthed a gigantic horned Santa, who has assumed mental control of the elves and commanded them to thaw him out of his prison and kidnap all the local kids for a snack. So on the one hand you have a traditional dark fairy tale involving Christmas and small kids, and on the other you have an ancient entity imprisoned in an isolated place because it couldn't be killed, that even in it's sleep has mental control over a servitor race of which it may be the progenitor (there appear to be no female elves). Sounds like familiar territory, especially with the inclusion of the 'goat' moniker.

The film may be better suited for Mythos fans than traditional horror fans. It was marketed as a film starring a demonic serial killer Santa Claus, somewhere between a horror movie and possibly an action film. It's neither. It's more of a comedy. Keeping in mind that Finn humor tends to be very dry and somewhat dark, it easily escapes the attention of most Western audiences who are used to less subtlety. The end scene where the town figures out what to do with the 'new' race of potentially homicidal anthropoids in their vicinity, and simultaneously find a way to save themselves financially inspires the films title, and is good for a chuckle. It would be like solving the Innsmouth problem by marketing the Deep Ones as pool boys. Traditional American horror fans will be disappointed as there is very little gore, and while nudity is common enough it's grumpy old man-elf nudity. Which is to say, not pretty. There are no women in this film (and I keep feeling there's a reason why, but I've somehow missed the joke).

Overall it's pretty good. The cgi isn't always as polished as it could be, and it focuses on story so it will feel slow moving to the impatient, but there's nothing else I've watched quite like it.

Also if you get the blu ray dvd, there's a hidden easter egg recipe for nummy ginger bread cookies. Make sure to look for it.

Dead Shadows creature comes out of hiding...

Production has wrapped on David Cholewa's Dead Shadows and a new batch of images have hit the official facebook page, including the creature shot below! Click the link for more behind-the-scenes images and production stills...

About the film: Chris is a young man whose parents were brutally killed 11 years ago, on the same day Halley's Comet could be seen from earth. Tonight a new comet is going to appear, and everyone in his building is getting ready for a party to celebrate the event. There's even an apocalypse theory going around. As the night falls, Chris starts to discover that people are acting strange - and it seems to somehow be connected to the comet. People are becoming disoriented and violent, and it doesn't take long before they start mutating into something from beyond this world. In a fight for survival, Chris has to try to escape from his building with the help from some other tenants - but will they make it out alive?

(Thanks to Steve Hergina and Dread Central)

Contained Officially Released Online!

For Immediate Release:

Contained, the award winning short film from director Woodruff Laputka, has officially been released online.

Shot and produced in 48 Hours, Contained is the story of, Hope, a young woman living in an inner-city apartment building who picks up the slack of her ailing superintendent father. Longing for a better life far away from the confines of the old apartment building, and from the idiosyncrasies of her oddly eccentric tenants, she befriends an old man who entrusts to her the delivery of a strange, mysterious box. Unsure of the box's contents, Hope needs only remember the old man’s one request: "The box must not be opened…"

To view the film, or for more information, click here.

copyright, Laputka Films 2011. All Rights Reserved.

(Thanks to Woodruff Laputka)

Lost Land Selected for 2011 Anchorage Int. Film Festival

For Immediate Release:

Lost Land, the short film from director Woodruff Laputka, has been selected for competition in the Anchorage International Film Festival.

Lost Land follows, Carter, a bewildered asylum patient in the 1930's, who seeks the source of a mysterious call from his distant, long buried past. As Carter digs deeper and deeper, however, he discovers that some memories are best left buried.

Inspired by the work of H.P Lovecraft and Algernon Blackwood comes this tale of lost souls, eldritch powers and the madness of horrors long forgotten.

The Anchorage International Film Festival takes place December 2nd – December 11th in Anchorage, Alaska. More information regarding the festival can be found here.

You can also view Lost Land online by visiting the Laputka Films Production Portfolio's Narrative section.

(Thanks to Woodruff Laputka)

Monsterpalooza Magazine now available...

For Immediate Release:

MONSTERPALOOZA MAGAZINE NOW AVAILABLE!

The premiere issue of Monsterpalooza Magazine, named after Eliot Brodsky's Monsterpalooza Convention held annually in Burbank, California, is now available and ready to order direct from the publisher! Monsterpalooza Magazine brings you the best of classic and modern horror, fantasy and science fiction, in film, literature, media, art, illustration, make-up and sculpture, in its glossy print pages! 96 glorious pages—advertisement free! All killer! NO filler!

WHAT: MONSTERPALOOZA MAGAZINE

No. 1, Autumn 2011. Published quarterly. $9.95 (plus S&H) Order direct from www.monsterpaloozamag.com

WHO: MONSTERPALOOZA MAGAZINE is published and edited by Michael Heisler and Mark Redfield. The cover art is by Jeff Preston. Writers in the premiere issue include Jeff Baham, Raymond Castile, Frank Dietz, Scott Essman, Pierre Fournier, David Gerrold, Daniel Griffith, Matt Lake, Sean Paul Murphy, Ted Newsom, Joe Nazzaro, Mark Redfield, Gary Don Rhodes, and Anthony Taylor.

WHAT'S INSIDE THE PREMIERE ISSUE: Packed inside its 96 ad-free pages is Pierre Fournier's story Dare You See It?, on the 80th Anniversary of the 1931 Frankenstein; David Gerrold (Star Trek, The Trouble With Tribbles) launches his regular column State of the Art; Anthony Taylor interviews sculptor Mike Hill; Ted Newsom contributed an in-depth career overview of the late Jimmy Sangster and his Hammer Film output; Joe Nazzaro honors the work of make-up maestro John Chambers; Jeff Baham (DoomBuggies) gives us the inside scoop on the creation of Disneyland's The Haunted Mansion; Raymond Castile takes us to St Louis for a report on the Vincentennial; Mark Redfield and Scott Essman pay tribute to Lon Chaney and Jack Pierce, respectively; and much, MUCH MORE!

THE STORY: MONSTERPALOOZA MAGAZINE launched in October, 2011 and is available now. Published and edited by Michael Heisler and Mark Redfield (through Redfield's company Damfino Media), Monsterpalooza Magazine is published quarterly, with the second issue out in January, 2012.

Named after the fabulous Monsterpalooza Convention held each Spring in Burbank, California produced by Eliot Brodsky, Heisler and Redfield, after considering several names for their new print 'zine, approached Brodsky with the idea of naming it after his convention, and a deal was struck, happily for all. Monsterpalooza Magazine captures the spirit of creation and creators in celebrating all things fantastic in the seven arts, and the magazine brings you the best of classic and modern horror, fantasy and science fiction, in film, literature, media, art, illustration, make-up and sculpture, in its glossy print pages.

Order your copy of Monsterpalooza Magazine #1—made with loving care—with in-depth writing and vibrant illustrations and photos—at www.monsterpaloozamag.com today!

(Thanks to Mark Redfield)